Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission organises National Webinar on the 'Use of Technology in Education’
To mark the completion of one year of transformative reforms under National Education Policy, 2020, Ministry of Education  is organising a series of theme-based webinars on various aspects of National Education Policy, 2020. Technology driven education being one of the major innovative thrust area of NEP, MoE and University Grants Commission organised a National Webinar on Use of Technology in Education today. Union Minister of Railways, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed dignitaries who joined from various parts of the country.
In his inaugural address, Union Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasised upon the need of using technology in education to make it available for all. He stressed upon the adaption of technology for smoothening the process of education. Antyodaya, being one of the major philosophies rooted in Indian culture, he mentioned various initiatives to help reach technology to the last person in the society. While talking about lifelong learning, he emphasized on bringing college campuses at the doorsteps of the learners. He pointed out several measures by the Government taken under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to further enhance the connectivity, high speed internet, and means of communication with the use of advance technology.
Prof. D.P. Singh, Chairman, UGC in his address shed light on the multiple initiatives taken up by UGCto make the courses available on digital platforms. Prof. Singh highlighted SWAYAM, SWAYAM Prabha, NAD and other digital platforms which have brought learners in the mainstream of online education as part of UGC’s initiatives.
Smt. Anita Karwal, Secretary, School Education & Literacy said that the blueprint for national digital architecture for school education through which child can register and get linked to learning process which will be a digital record of his/her certificates, academic tracks.
Smt. Anita Karwal, Secretary, School Education& Literacy said that the blueprint for national digital architecture for school education through which child can register and get linked to learning process which will be a digital record of his/her certificates, academic tracks.
Chairing the first technical session on National Education Technology Forum, Shri S.D. Shibulal, Ex CEO & MD, Infosys addressed the participants on bridging the divide between technology and regular education.
Speaker of the session Shri Manoj Ahuja, Chairman, CBSE talked about ways to digitalize education through virtual labs, AR/VR, Gamification. Shri Sanjay Sarma, Professor, MIT, USA put forward the need to inculcate openness to adopt technologies. Prof. Partha Pratim Chakraborty, Deptt. of Computer Science, IIT Kharagpur concluded the session by focusing on creation of AI generated textbooks with the help of National Digital Library, digital twins, robot citizens.
The second session of webinar on the theme “Use of Technology for Operationalization of Academic Bank of Credits” was chairedby Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan, Former Vice Chairman, UGC. He threw light on how the Academic Bank of Credits is a flexible, revolutionary and forward-looking innovation in the National Education Policy, 2020.
Shri Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov talked about how Digilocker will facilitate the storage and transfer of Academic Bank of Credits. Prof. R.P. Tiwari, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Punjab emphasised on how the NEP will move from digital divide to digital provide. Prof. Rajnish Jain, Secretary, UGC gave insights on how the universities are spreading awareness among faculties and students about ABC and Multiple Entry & Exit.
The last session on MOOCS/Virtual University was chaired by Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE. He spoke on the use of AI for personalized learnings with the help of digital toys especially in the field of school education.
Prof. Saroj Sharma, Chairman, NIOS stated how approx. 1 Crore people from rural areas have benefitted from the digital initiatives by the government. Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, Deptt. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras addressed the webinar on developing virtual + physical hybrid model of courses. Prof. P.D. Jose, Deptt. of Strategy Area, IIM Bangalore emphasised on creating world class universities leveraging technology to provide high-quality, cost-effective education to students across the world. Prof. Sreedhar Iyer, IIT Bombay concluded the session by providing insights on learner centric MOOCs.
Several academicians, higher education institutions, students, experts from industry and technical fields from all across the country took part in the webinar. Officers from different Ministries, UGC, AICTE and other premier institutions were also present in the webinar.
The key takeaways of the webinar were that of establishing a hybrid model of education with the blend of virtual and physical education. The National Education Policy, 2020 with use of technology will increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio, decrease the drop-out rate, improve student mobility, equity and quality of education for students as well faculties.
The webinar on the Use of Technology in Education created a space for academia, scholarsand higher education institutions across India to discuss ways about enhancing technological support in the realm of education in India.